The Equalizer 3: Denzel takes on Southern Italy
When I first walked into the theater to watch “The Equalizer 3”, I didn’t know what to expect. While I was quite familiar with the undeniable on-screen presence of the extremely talented and charismatic Denzel Washington, I was not familiar with the previous two installments in this action franchise. Upon sitting down staring at a blank screen waiting for the film to start, I finally understood how my friends feel every time I introduce them to a film they’ve heard absolutely nothing about. But not even the trailer could prepare me for the first five minutes of this film where a taken by surprise Juan is already grossed out at the sight of Denzel Washington taking out a bad guy by repeatedly shooting him in the eye in an up-close camera shot. I am not sure who was more concerned, the bad guys on screen surprised by Washington’s character’s actions or my colleagues seated next to me who know I have an issue watching films consisting of grisly eye-gouging galore.
And just like that, I was introduced to “The Equalizer 3” which is the third installment in director Antoine Fuqua’s action series starring Hollywood royalty, Denzel Washington as Robert McCall. His character resembles a modern-day version of Robin Hood. That is of course if Robin Hood were a retired U.S. Marine and special agent who just so happens to constantly return to action to be the hero no one is stepping up to be. One of the highlights emphasized in the marketing of this film is that it features the onscreen reunion of stars Denzel Washington & Dakota Fanning after starring together in Tony Scott’s “Man on Fire” 19 years ago. Their reunion is one of the strongest aspects of this film, more on that later. In this new film, Robert McCall has settled down in a nice home in Southern Italy after being wounded at the beginning of this film. Just as he starts to immerse himself in the wonderful culture and lifestyle, McCall discovers that his new friends live under the rule of organized criminals threatening the townspeople and causing havoc throughout. Much to the displeasure of Robert McCall, he realizes that he can’t continue to see these people’s lives being threatened, and he decides to take on the role of the protector of this town. And so, begins what could be the final mission in his way of the new life he just discovered and is not willing to give up.
On the one hand, there are very few actors who most audiences will believe can take down a mafia organization, but thankfully Denzel Washington is one of them. If I’m being honest, I don’t blame McCall for wanting to just quietly vanish and spend the rest of his days in Italy. Quite frankly the same thought has crossed my own mind as I have experienced and enjoyed the Italian dolce vita lifestyle filled with beautiful scenery, nice people & delicious food which is very well showcased in this film. The very thought of booking a trip back to Italy and forgetting to return is beyond tempting which is where I empathize with Washington’s character. There is one large exception when it comes to this comparison and that is that I am not action star & beloved cinema icon Denzel Washington. But while I love the thought of watching films take place in Italy just so I could experience a form of escapism, this film did not work for me as it’s weighed down by certain elements that feel unnecessary.
As I alluded to earlier, one of the main problems with “The Equalizer 3” is that this revenge tale is too focused on displaying grisly gore and shockingly brutal kills rather than telling a fresh, original story. This story contains a by-the-book mafia movie where a vigilante sets out to right their wrongs, yet it never feels like the main character is ever in any real danger. For that matter, the story doesn’t even bother to introduce a main villain as an integral part of the story because by the time the main antagonist’s arrival happens, you’re not fazed by this character. Given that this is the third film in a concluding series, you’d expect this villain to pose a real threat to your lead character as they should aim to be the most memorable villain within the trilogy; and potentially even offer up a shocking twist, but they don’t, which makes this film less exciting. By choosing to go this route storywise, your audience could feel as though they’re watching another predictable action film where they can correctly guess what will happen by the end of the film. Granted, you may not guess all of the ways bad guys get slaughtered, but you will be able to figure out how they’re going to get from Point A to Point B in an unsatisfying manner that leaves you shocked, yet disappointed. An instance of this occurs when you realize that while the fight choreography here is technically well done, the not so frequent action scenes manage to leave a greater impact than the overall story does. And while I have seen some critics say this is an improvement over the second film, if this is the final film in your trilogy it is always best to go out with a memorable bang full of twists and surprises instead of a normalized passing grunt as you’re walking up a hill.
What is truly interesting about Robert McCall is that while this film makes it seem like he’s trying to escape this lifestyle that he has been a part of for so long that he feels ready to walk away from, you can tell that there’s still a side of him that enjoys playing the cat and mouse game. He hopes that he doesn’t have to deal with potential body bag fillers as his character is able to demonstrate what their fates could end up being, yet when the moment presents itself rather than ignore the problem, he enjoys providing solutions. McCall likes the feeling of being helpful and providing cryptic insight as he does with Dakota Fanning’s character as if he’s passing on the wisdom he’s obtained throughout the years to someone he has faith in. He enjoys the process of observing and gathering intel before proceeding to take out his enemies before they attack him and that’s what makes his character interesting to follow. He doesn’t want to be bothered yet since he gave up his life as a government assassin, he finds solace in serving justice on behalf of the oppressed and he feels the need to carry this responsibility to help others around him being affected by criminal activity because very few have the set of skills he does. For those of us who haven’t seen the previous films, you automatically see that he’s captivatingly intense yet effective, he’s precise yet consistent in his decision making and that is what you want out of your action star. That is why you always associate Denzel Washington with praise, accolades and the overall embodiment of what a movie star is supposed to bring to every role. When analyzing the film, you see that there’s plenty to explore within this character which ends up fascinating you, but you end up wishing that the character was a part of a more entertaining film that kept your attention rather than leading you to wander off into constructing a character study as the film goes on.
Recently, there have been a couple of action movies released by Hollywood that have raised the bar for the genre quality-wise and there have been some other action films that make you wonder if the genre is slowly dying out. One thing that some of those films don’t have is an actor like Denzel Washington who carries this film & proves why he is a household name and a consummate professional. Not only can you tell that he is enjoying making this film and breathing life into this role rather than phoning it in like some other action stars have in their own franchises, but Washington’s charm carries a film that not as many would be able to pull off. In fact, the most memorable parts of this film are Washington’s charismatic moments where he’s either saying witty dialogue that you question if it was actually in the script or improvised or reciting playful banter that he delivers with ease. While the story isn’t as solid or inventive as it could have been, a real star manages to find a way to provide the audience with an interesting character and memorable moments as part of a film’s redeeming qualities.
And as incredible as Denzel is, as you’re watching the film, you still realize throughout this almost two-hour runtime that “The Equalizer 3” is much more of a slow burn than you thought it was going to be and more than you thought it needed to be. Like I mentioned earlier, it starts out with an action scene that while it was too intense for my liking, it is meant to hold you over for about an hour while the story tries to get its engine running and that’s not exciting unless there’s a massive payoff which I clearly did not see. While there’s nothing wrong with establishing the new location and characters, the first hour is essentially you watching Denzel’s character get attached to this town and community and it tries to get the audience to care about all of these elements, but the only new character I was invested in was Emma Collins played by Dakota Fanning. Fanning does a really great job in her role, especially during her scenes with Washington and she’s so good in the role that it almost makes you wish that the film would have gone in a completely different direction and shifted into mainly having Fanning & Washington solve the crime together as a way of the new school learning from the old school and vice versa. Adding to that idea, you could have even included a car chase scene between the Mafia members and these two characters to add more entertainment value which would help distract from the fact that the film is too long and drawn out. An example being, there’s a scene involving the mafia members sending a message to people living in an older building and this message involves the fate of an old man which in my opinion was too cruel. By cutting this scene out, it wouldn’t look like the film was relying on shock value to entertain yet you don’t lose anything either when it comes to the plot, thus deeming it unnecessary. While this film takes a darker route storywise, you can’t help but feel that the pacing in here is inconsistent for an action movie as it starts off slow and then begins to feel rushed when the movie realizes it has to end at some point and they don’t have as intriguing a story as they thought they did.
“The Equalizer 3” has been advertised as the final chapter in this series and while I would agree with this decision, it would not surprise me if they decide to greenlight another sequel (because not every action hero who makes money at the box office gets to retire and ride off into the sunset by Hollywood’s standards), or even a prequel featuring a de-aged Denzel Washington or seeing his son John David Washington stepping in to play a young Robert McCall. While I don’t think that this film is must see entertainment, if you’re a fan of these kinds of films or even this series, you should consider watching it down the line at some point either as a rental or on Netflix which is where this film will eventually end up due to Sony’s deal with the service. Now if you’re like me and you haven’t seen the first two films before seeing this installment, this still has a chance of working out for you since it’ll serve as an introduction to this charming main character and you’ll be able to keep up with the film as you don’t need to rely on so much past lore. While Washington, Fanning & the beautiful Italian scenery did the best they could, this is ultimately an unbalanced action finale that convinces you it will deliver a big and epic payoff, yet it’s a 1 hour & 50-minute action movie containing under 30 minutes of action that isn’t as exciting as you would expect from a final entry.
